Every association knows the renewal question, even when nobody asks it out loud: what did membership give me this year? For many members the honest answer is a conference they didn't attend, a newsletter they skimmed and a credential they could keep some other way. That is a hard case to make on a renewal notice.
A member benefits program is one of the few ways to give members something they use between events, on their own schedule. This post looks at why that matters for keeping members, and what makes a program actually help rather than sit unused.
Membership is judged all year, not at renewal
Members don't decide to renew in the week the invoice arrives. They decide over the year, every time membership does or doesn't show up in their working life. Events and advocacy matter, but they happen a few times a year and many members never see them up close.
Everyday value works differently. A member who saves on a phone plan, practice software or a hotel for a work trip meets the association in an ordinary week. When renewal comes, the association is something they already use, not a line item to reconsider.
What makes a benefit count
Not every benefits program helps. The ones that do tend to share a few things.
- Things members already buy. Offers on phone plans, software, insurance, travel and professional development match what professionals spend on anyway. A discount on something nobody needs isn't a benefit.
- Inside the association's own brand. When the offers live in the association's portal, behind the member login, the value is clearly the association's. A separate site with someone else's brand teaches members to thank someone else.
- Easy to reach. One login the member already has, offers grouped by what they need, and terms in plain language. Every extra step is a reason to give up.
- Visible at renewal. A running total of what a member has saved turns a vague sense of value into something specific the association can mention in its renewal notice.
The board's question: what does it cost?
Benefits programs used to mean either a cost per member or a staff member chasing vendors. Neither is easy to justify when budgets are tight.
There is another model. MemberLoop is free for the association: vendors pay a commission when members buy, and a share of that commission comes back to the association as non-dues revenue. Member data stays with the association. The board gets a program that adds value to membership and earns revenue, instead of one more expense to defend.
How to tell whether it's working
Keep the measures simple and report them the same way every year.
- Members who have signed in to the benefits portal at least once.
- Members who have used an offer, which says more than page views.
- What members saved, in total and per active member.
- Revenue earned from the association's share of commissions.
Compare the members who use the program with those who don't when renewals come in. You won't prove cause and effect from one year, but you will learn whether the program is reaching the members you most want to keep.
Ready to start?
If you want to see what members would find, look at the offer categories. To talk through whether a benefits program fits your association, book a call and we'll walk you through how MemberLoop works.